Weekend Reads: A move toward choice and diversity in Charlotte, N.C.

  • A panel of judges in Texas dismiss a lawsuit brought by the family of black students who were harassed for being black, even as the opinion acknowledges that many severe incidents against the students occurred. Slate
  • The mother of one of the few white students in her neighborhood school questions why her white neighbors want to start a charter school that emphasized diversity rather than attend the neighborhood school where diversity already exists. Huffington Post
  • A critical look at the legacy of outgoing U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan points to persistent gaps between rich and poor school districts and the backlash against the Common Core. The Nation
  • The school board in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., moves one step closer to adopting an enrollment plan that emphasizes choice and school diversity, but doesn’t discuss a proposal to use factors such as race and socioeconomic diversity as considerations when drawing school boundaries. The Charlotte Observer
  • A group of national, state and local teachers unions pressure school districts to abandon the McDonald’s-branded school fundraiser known as McTeacher’s Night. NPR
  • Why did Intel end its relationship with the high school science competition the Science Talent Search? It may be because the company is focusing more on the newer Maker Faire. The Atlantic
  • One of the founding teachers of a KIPP high school in Newark goes deep on what the dramatic shift from district to charter school enrollment there has meant for students. The 74 Million
  • Eva Moskowitz, head of the high-profile Success Academy charter school network, defends her schools’ practice of suspending very young students. NewsHour
  • Here is a cool collection of interviews with New York City teachers on everything from why they chose to teach to their feelings on standardized testing to their own experiences in school. Gothamist
  • Jimmy Fallon pays homage to his upstate New York high school in a school announcements parody sketch with Gabrielle Union. Daily Freeman